When I say to a client, “Sure, I can do that!” it is based on years of experience and invested in developing technical savvy that I base my claims. Grounded in a solid fine art background, design is second nature to me. Besides that, I grok computer logic. I’ve been practicing my art for many many years. I’ve immersed myself in the flow of the technical highway, and it is a vast river with strong current.
In order to be up to speed in the graphic world today, it is quite helpful to embody a true love of learning. It never ends; the push to learn more, ingest even better programs, improve techniques, and slam dunk the up and coming marketing and promotional strategies. Yikes! All the while, the work keeps coming, and the speed limit keeps rising like google’s email storage.
Recently, I went back to school. I love going to school. I love learning new stuff, expanding my understandings, fleshing out my knowledge base, opening up to new ideas, appearing to myself to keep up with the traffic in the technical fast lane.
It’s been rough lately. Technical difficulties which have come close to overwhelming me. Old paranoia arising. I must say that if as indicated by the movie Jacob’s Ladder the demon’s in our lives are our angels sent to bless us with the path to true union, then the computer hackers and those that invent trojans and malware and other nasty things have completed their job in my life.
I have surrendered to the Will of God. My Higher Power graces me with Joy in my heart throughout all trials. And I know that in truth, I am always safe and loved, no matter what.
Last month at my Mom’s 80th birthday I got to hold a grand-niece who was 7 weeks old. Wow. There was a welling up in my heart of such joy and peace that all I could do is smile and hold her, and gaze into her tiny face. I was instantly transported back to the days when my daughters were tiny, those times when I thought I would burst with so much love. Even in the worst of times, Mother love shines like a beacon of joy from one’s heart.
When I went to Hawaii the first time, I went to Kauai. I got to hold a baby there that had been born only an hour before in a forest service hut on stilts. She had been named in the traditional way, and it was proclaimed that she was bringing peace to the world. My heart welled up with joy there too.
Surrender… I don’t always do it gracefully. Just one more little tweak. Now, just one more. Suddenly it’s two hours later and the piece has evolved into a whole different look. Sometimes that is exactly what needs to happen. Other times, I am just nit-picking myself into the hole of non-productivity, and it is time to surrender my perfectionism.
When I first start brainstorming with a client, throwing out the breadth of ideas, I simply don’t spend the time perfecting anything. It seems silly to waste time on work that will be mostly rejected for the one “winning” idea. Once that idea is chosen, then I dig in and start cleaning it up, replacing rough images with clean ones, and developing the vector image (if applicable).
Every individual has slightly (or major) different ideas about how they wish to be represented. Discovering the balance between a concept and an actual working design can be an adventure in communications.
Hopefully the end result will be exactly what the client wants and needs. Preferably, that design has been achieved through grace, which is only truly accessed through surrender.
So, here I am working on some project and I get a phone call: Emergency! Gotta have something for this afternoon! What do I do?
First off, there are no emergencies! Only tighter deadlines, in my book.
Secondly, if I have received the challenge of producing a graphic quick, I just breathe. There is joy in creating a graphic immediately. One of the greatest joys for me is to just open up my heart, and let the ideas start flowing through. As long as I don’t start off by second gusessing anything, I will usually have a bunch of ideas in no time flat. This is not to say that they are all good ideas, just ideas. The secret is to not judge them, let them unfold, in my mind, in my palette on the computer.
Quick sketches provide a buffet from which to choose. At this point, I may ask for input, or I may just put thumbnails up and go get a cup of tea. Then I can peruse the initial ideas with a fresh eye, looking for possibilities. Still I am not judging, as it is just the beginning of the discerning process.
I may choose 1 to 3 ideas to flesh out. Very rarely at this point do I throw them all out and start over again, although that is always an option.
These fleshed out roughs will be sent to my client for input, and the beginning of the proofing process. The secret, then to graphics on the fly, is approaching it at first with an open mind, the brainstorming model with no judgement.
My Mom turned 80 this last week. That’s a major milestone, in my book. We had a big party for her in her home town, with lots of family and several friends of hers. A great time was had by all of all ages, from 7 weeks old to over 80. I so enjoyed the whole thing, especially getting to see my Mom and my Aunt and my sisters and getting to hold the newest 7 week old member of the family. That does fill me with extra joy, I’ll say.
So did the trip home. The fall colors were just exploding all over the place. The brilliant golden yellow aspen, the flaming red maples, the big fluffy white clouds stark against the brilliant blue sky: it was eyecandy everywhere. If I had stopped as I wanted to every time I saw a beautiful photograph in the making I would not have gotten home before dark, let alone before 2pm as I had promised. Color like that causes an aching joy in my chest. All of my pores fill up with it. No more is needed. I am complete.
What a perfectly wonderful weekend.
